Area Commerce

Area Commerce. . Commerce came quickly to the area as pioneers cleared land and became established. Pasture and grazing was common but presented transportation problems before refrigeration and good roads or bridges. The Clear Creek Creamery co-op was formed to convert the milk into butter. Butter was easier to transport and keep fresh. , Horace established a slack-line ferry across the Clackamas River in 1872. The photo of the ferry shows its size. It also shows a carriage traveling on the ferry. The ferry was swept away in the floods of 1882 and a year later a covered bridge, the longest in Oregon, was built by the County. Foundations of the old bridge can still be seen along the banks of the river downstream of the current bridge. , This carriage is currently undergoing restoration and stored in the BCHS Shed. Evidence indicates this is the same carriage as the one crossing on the ferry. , Also contributing to the rapid growth in industry was the C and E Railroad. A trestle was built over the Clackamas River and the rail bed passed behind the cabin, and continues south down what is now the driveway. The railroad extended beyond Logan and West Viola serving six logging mills and all the farms in the area. The old trestle pilings can still be seen at low water: down river of the bridge on the north side. The photo shows the partially dismantled trestle, the tavern and the covered bridge all together near the location of the current bridge.